Post subject:
Visitors to West Coast National Park during Festive season.

Posted:
Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:16 am

Junior Virtual Ranger

Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:31 pmPosts: 375Location: Langebaan

I'm posting this to test other forumite's opinion, and hopefully for Park Management to take note of the situation.

Subjected to available infrastructure (picnic sites, ablution facilities etc) as well is impact on the environment, I thought SAN Parks have always had daily quotas for the amount of day-visitors to our National Parks. However;

This does not seem to be the case in the West Coast National Park. During the few days around New Year, thousands of day-visitors entered the Park - mainly to spend the day at Kraalbaai. I went cycling in the Park on the morning of 5 January. 98 cars passed me on their way to Kraalbaai on the 15 km stretch between the T junction @ Geelbek and Kraalbaai (there and back). Of the 98 cars that passed me, almost all of them were speeding. The roadside was littered with cool-drink cans, plastic bottles etc - something virtually never seen during the year. At the picnic area at Kraalbaai it was chaos with not enough parking and picnic facilities. From a reliable source I know more than 2000 individuals passed through the Park gates ON ONE DAY during peak times! Surely this must be way above what the Park is designed to handle?

This is not the first time I notice this very high volume of visitors during holiday periods, Clearly Parks board will have to step in here and do some kind of management. I imagine it will be difficult to turn away the queues of cars at the gates but something needs to be done.

WE were there on the 31st 1st and 2nd and yes Kraalbaai was chaotic . we could not pass to get to the atlantic beach area. Sanparks were there and they were enforcing the liquor rules as far as we could see. The rest of the park was quiet and the Birdhides apart from us empty. At the beach area we only saw about 4 families braaing . all very orderly. Speeding .. well nobody dared pass us . I had my yellow cosie on and wore my Sanparks cap that they gave me and my Sanparks backpack was in full view of the peeps behind us WE stopped to see some bokkies which were close and nobody even stopped to ask us what we were looking at . So they obviously only had Picnic in mind.WE were at Abrahaamskraal and only about 6 cars actually drove into the parking at the bird hide the whole time we were there.Though I do believe they will have to have a gate limit soon as there were far too many cars rushing to the picnic spot and there were hundreds of folk swimming in the lagoon which I am sure has some impact on the animals,plants and birds

When at the cottage a 4x4 twin cab drove up to the cottageat 19.30 the folks inside looked well do folk They then spotted us and made a hurried retreat . I wonder if they thought they could spend the night there as by this time gate closing was over and anyway what were they wandering about the park at that time. !!!!!!I wonder how many folk chance their luck and sleep over in the park . We were not checked when we left the park so who knows we might have been there for weeks !!

_________________I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt

When at the cottage a 4x4 twin cab drove up to the cottageat 19.30 the folks inside looked well to do folk They then spotted us and made a hurried retreat . I wonder if they thought they could spend the night there as by this time gate closing was over and anyway what were they wandering about the park at that time. !!!!!!I wonder how many folk chance their luck and sleep over in the park . We were not checked when we left the park so who knows we might have been there for weeks !!

Good point Hugh. One night well after closing time in Letaba, a bakkie was driving slowly but purposefully around the safari tent area. I am sure they were looking for an empty one.

_________________Whatever (according to BB): "You are correct but I don't want to admit it".

BB our car was hidd3n from view being parked on the far side and as it was still light there were no lights on and we were sitting inside because it was a bit windy . When they arrived I opened the front door to enquire what they wanted but on seeing me it was a very quick reverse and lots of dust Lets hope they were eaten by an ostrich

_________________I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt

Post subject:
Re: Visitors to West Coast National Park during Festive seas

Posted:
Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:09 am

Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:45 amPosts: 30Location: Cape Town

WeskusKlong wrote:

I'm posting this to test other forumite's opinion, and hopefully for Park Management to take note of the situation.

Subjected to available infrastructure (picnic sites, ablution facilities etc) as well is impact on the environment, I thought SAN Parks have always had daily quotas for the amount of day-visitors to our National Parks. However;

This does not seem to be the case in the West Coast National Park. During the few days around New Year, thousands of day-visitors entered the Park - mainly to spend the day at Kraalbaai. I went cycling in the Park on the morning of 5 January. 98 cars passed me on their way to Kraalbaai on the 15 km stretch between the T junction @ Geelbek and Kraalbaai (there and back). Of the 98 cars that passed me, almost all of them were speeding. The roadside was littered with cool-drink cans, plastic bottles etc - something virtually never seen during the year. At the picnic area at Kraalbaai it was chaos with not enough parking and picnic facilities. From a reliable source I know more than 2000 individuals passed through the Park gates ON ONE DAY during peak times! Surely this must be way above what the Park is designed to handle?

This is not the first time I notice this very high volume of visitors during holiday periods, Clearly Parks board will have to step in here and do some kind of management. I imagine it will be difficult to turn away the queues of cars at the gates but something needs to be done.

I agree with you BUT great revenue for the park. Cannot see them turning this away.

Post subject:
Re: Visitors to West Coast National Park during Festive seas

Posted:
Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:34 pm

Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:21 amPosts: 7

Good Evening All,

I am posting in this forum as I feel it may be the most appropriate.I have recently spent the weekend in Langebaan, going into the park on Friday evening (17:30-19:00) aswell as Monday morning (07:00 - 9:30), and on both occasions the speeding within the park was a disgrace. I am not sure what was more disheartening, the fact that there was so mush roadkill or the fact that park management was seemingly doing nothing about the speeding issue.

I have however not come to complain, I would like to offer a solution. This will not cost any money nor man-hours. I propose that all visitor's entrance times will be written on their entrance tickets, and then checked on the way out, this time can then be compared to how long it should take a car driving from gate to gate at 50km/hr (As most of the culprits which speed though the park are using it as a through road). If visitors "lose" their tickets then they should be fined a certain amount, and then checked against the second copy which one of the gates should hold.

Honestly this is just an idea, and I do not expect SANParks to humor every idea that the public brings forward, however if they continue to do nothing I cannot see myself support them for much longer.

An excellent suggestion, Andrew, and one that I, as a part-time West Coast resident (Darling), agree is much needed. I love WCNP and visit regularly and always find the speeding disheartening and SANParks' continued ignoring of this problem infuriating For an organisation supposedly dedicated to protecting wildlife, they would appear to have very little concern for the many victims of the WCNP speedsters.

A lot of people were driving slowly, but there were still the speedsters.

Interestingly, the speedsters almost all had local number plates while the 'foreigners' were toeing the line.

Mercifully I didn't see any roadkill.

It is time that something was done about those racing to & from Langebaan through the park.

My proposal.

It looks about 35 km from gate to gate, so write/stamp on the permit the time of entry, and anyone arriving at the other gate before 45 minutes is forced to wait a punitive extra half hour, totalling 1.25 hours, before being let through the exit gate. Either that or force a 'speed levy' or R100 per minute early.

_________________Whatever (according to BB): "You are correct but I don't want to admit it".

A lot of people were driving slowly, but there were still the speedsters.

Interestingly, the speedsters almost all had local number plates while the 'foreigners' were toeing the line.

Mercifully I didn't see any roadkill.

It is time that something was done about those racing to & from Langebaan through the park.

My proposal.

It looks about 35 km from gate to gate, so write/stamp on the permit the time of entry, and anyone arriving at the other gate before 45 minutes is forced to wait a punitive extra half hour, totalling 1.25 hours, before being let through the exit gate. Either that or force a 'speed levy' or R100 per minute early.

Both excellent ideas BB I'm another sometime 'local' who fervently wishes for something to be done about the speedsters in my much-loved local park Unfortunatley it's not only those racing to/from Langebaan as there are plenty of speedsters (residents of places like Churchhaven?) on the Tsaarsbank/Atlantic/western road as well Harder to find a remedy for controlling those speedsters

Love that Park but then I ony go in quiet times and to the bird hides !! and those are usually quiet Yoda you didn't pick me up on the way through . we are right on the road that goes that way Sulk sulk !!!

_________________I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt

Post subject:
Re: Visitors to West Coast National Park during Festive seas

Posted:
Tue Jan 07, 2014 12:55 pm

Junior Virtual Ranger

Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2005 4:24 pmPosts: 2256Location: UK

Hugh wrote:

Love that Park but then I ony go in quiet times and to the bird hides !! and those are usually quiet Yoda you didn't pick me up on the way through . we are right on the road that goes that way Sulk sulk !!!

Hugh,2 over-tired kids and my mother in law.....you would probably not wanted to have joined us....

we culd have lft the MIL at my place and Hugh could have entertained her with a nice cup of tea . And the kids put them in front of the TV and tell them to watch Animal planet !!!!! Did you manage to go to the fossil park Its not san parks but its an amazing place .. and not touristy at all

_________________I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt

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